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Sainsbury's Basic Tea Lights

= = = = = = =The Product= = = = = = = I am reviewing Sainsbury's Basic Tea lights, which I purchased over a week ago to go with my Yankee Wax Burner. When purchasing the Yankee Wax Burner and some Wax Tarts on the Yankee website, I was going to purchase some Yankee unscented tea lights; how-ever they didn't have any left in stock. I knew I was going to my local Sainsbury's to get some groceries so I was going to see if they had some unscented tea lights. These tea lights are very basic as they are Sainsbury's own brand which is part of the Sainsbury's basic range. The items in the Sainsbury's basic range are often very cheap so are also affordable. Because I would be using the tea lights with my wax burner, I didn't want scented ones anyway. These were perfect and just what I was looking for. There are a total of 100 tea lights in a bag which is priced at £2.99. I thought this was very reasonable for these and wouldn't have expected to pay much more for a bag of Sainsbury's basic tea lights. The tea lights come in a plastic bag which has white and orange on, which all the Sainsbury basic products are packaged in. It clearly states on the front of the bag what the item is and the quantity of tea lights it contains. You can see the tea lights through the packaging. Although the tea lights are packaged in layers there is a thin piece of card separating the layers and to protect the tea lights a little. These didn't look anything special but I really wasn't bothered about this as they were going to in my Yankee wax burner anyway.

= = = = = = = = = =Using the Candles= = = = = = = = = =I cut a small slit in the top of the plastic bag which enable me to get tea light out whenever I needed to. I couldn't find any other way of getting into the packaging apart from cutting or tearing it slightly with my hands. The tea lights are very light and are white in colour. Each tea light comes in a little metal holder which is silver in colour. The tea lights are less than 1cm high so they aren't very big. The wick to the tea lights are down when taking them out of the packaging but this can be pulled up ready for when lighting it. The wick is white in colour and can be lit easily once it has been pulled up. I tend to use a lighter when lighting the tea light and then I place it into my Yankee burner. The candle gives off a very small glow and does only have a small flame on it as the wick is quite short in length in comparison to other candles I have used before. The candle is easy to blow out afterwards using a gentle puff of breath. If you happen to leave the candle burning until the wax had gone, the candle will go out by itself. You can easily tell once the candle has been used fully and it's ready to be disposed of. The metal tray in which the tea light is in can become hot so its best not to handle this until it has cooled down. It can also be a little flimsy as well sometimes, especially when it's warmed up slightly. The candles apparently burn for up to 4hrs and I have found this to be pretty much correct. Once the candle has been used fully, I always ensure it's cooled down before placing the empty tray which holds the candle into the bin.

= = = = = = = = Overall Opinion= = = = = = = = I didn't really want any fancy tea light for use with my Yankee burner and for obvious reasons I didn't want scented tea lights either, so these were just perfect for me. They aren't the most attractive looking tea lights, but I wasn't worried about this either. The candles are easy to light as although the wick is slightly shorter than other tea lights and candles I have used before, it's still a reasonable length to light using matches or a lighter. These tea lights fit into my Yankee burner perfectly and so a good job of melting the wax tart in the burner to release the scents from the tart. I have noticed with the tea lights is that the wick tends to go black, if you blow the candle out; how-ever this wasn't really something that bothered me as no-one else would be seeing the tea light anyway. In terms of value the candles are extremely good value and probably the cheapest packs of tea lights available to purchase. I probably wouldn't use these on their own without the Yankee burner as I would prefer something that looked a bit nicer. For me these do a brilliant job and I will definitely be purchasing these again in the future.

(review may also appear on ciao)

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Melt perfectly, good length of melting time.

When I bought my first Yankee candle wax tart I needed to buy a lot of tea lights. I spotted these tea lights in Sainsbury's and thought I would give them a go. I do buy the scented tea lights sometimes but I didn't want to use those to use for my Yankee tarts because the tarts have a fragrance anyway and I didn't want to confuse my opinion of the fragrance from my Yankee tarts.

These tea lights come inside a transparent plastic bag. The name is clear on the front and it is just a basic looking bag with no fancy design etc. The wax is white in colour and they are circular shape. The wax is placed inside a foil container. The foil isn't the best of quality but adequate enough for the price. The foil does contain the wax well inside it. I find the wick is a good enough length to be able to light it. It is slightly shorter than some other brands but again an adequate length for the price. I like the length of the wick on these tea lights and I find them very easy to light and not a huge problem with them being a little shorter in length.

I find the base of the foil container sits well inside my burner, the base is a sturdy one and I have found they don't tip over or wobble. This is good because they are safe tea lights to use but as we all know any candles should always be placed on a flat surface and never be left unattended and to be blown out when we go out of the home.

I find the wax melts perfectly and is a good quality considering they are very cheap to buy. They give off a good light too. I also bought a candle holder with my name on it which has holes in a pretty pattern. A tea light can be placed inside the holder and once lit I can see my name clearly from the light these tea lights reflect through the holder. The tea lights work a treat for my named holder and I must admit it does look very pretty and quite attractive.

It is very easy to just blow out the flame if they are being used before the end of the wax has fully melted. These tea lights melt perfectly and I am very happy with them.

There are 100 tea lights in the bag and cost just £2.99 from Sainsbury's. I think they are super value for the price and for the amount you get in the bag it is a huge amount in my opinion and well worth the money. They are cheap and affordable for any budget in my opinion.

They claim to burn for up to 4 hours, I would say they come very close to this amount of time and burn closer to 4 hours than 3 from my experience of using them. I think the length of time they burn is an adequate amount of time for a cheaper brand of tea lights and I cannot complain at all. I just use 2 if I want to use them for a longer time.

They are unscented and so work a treat for burners to use for scented candle tarts. I find they work extremely well for melting my Yankee candle tarts and they melt the wax well and in the same way as more expensive unscented tea lights.

I think if you are wanting to drop a brand and to save a lot of money or you use a lot of tea lights and you buy lots of scented wax tarts, these would be idea and save you a lot of money. The amount is fabulous in my opinion.

They are also available in a pack of 25 tea lights which cost £1.59 but I don't think these are as good a value for money as the 100 pack but a good way of maybe buying the smaller pack to try first to see if you like them or not and just for testing the tea lights for half the price of the larger pack. But personally I would just buy the larger pack because I don't think you would be disappointed with them at all.

I am very happy to recommend these tea lights. I will most certainly buy them again in the future because they work a treat for my usage of tea lights and they burn well enough for my usage and the amount of hours I expect from a shops own brand of tea lights.

I give these tea lights 5 stars.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it has been of some help.

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Simple product with a multitude of uses.

Call it psychological but this winter despite the cold I have found that I haven't used my heating as much as I expected to on the evenings when I have been snuggled up on my sofa with a few candles burning on the coffee table, so when my bag of tealights started to run low I knew I'd want to go and buy some more. While all the big supermarkets had tealights listed on their websites I was unable to find any until I paid a visit to Sainsburys, where I discovered their bag of basics lights for a mere £3.

A tealight is a tealight looks wise, these are the typical white to slightly off white colour wax with a short white wick poking out of the top, sat in a very thin foil case. These are a standard size tea light sitting at around 13mm tall and 36mm across. Their surface is a little textured which quite frankly makes no difference whatsoever unless you intend to use them as a decorative item without burning them - other tealights can have a shiny surface finish which looks more attractive if these things interest you. According to the packaging these are 'Unscented but still romantic' and should burn for around 4 hours.

I shall make no comment on the romance of the candles since that is not their purpose in my home (and my last boyfriend informed me I wouldn't know romance if it wandered up to me with a dozen roses), however I have found that the approx 4 hour burn time can vary from as little as 90 mins to over 4 hours depending on the candle holder they're used in. On the whole in my small shallow tealight holders they last up to 2 hours, while in my deeper 'plantpot' shaped holders they tend to last nearer the 4 hour approximation and in the lantern holder I have they seem to last comfortably beyond 4 hours.

Lighting these is simple, lift the wick and apply the flame and they seem to take very quickly, when they have burned themselves out there generally is very little wax left in the foil case but as the case is foil it can be very hot and what little wax is left in the base is also hot (shocking stuff given it's been burning!) so it isn't wise to attempt to move them until they have had a little while to cool down again.

Of course the usual safety warnings must be given - do not leave candles burning unattended, do not leave candles burning too close together and if you're me, do not forget you lit the candle and lean over it with long loose sleeves...

Generally I would say that for basic unscented tealights these are fantastic value, at 3p per candle and as they actually can last as long as they say they can, and lets face it even if it is only my brain seeing flames and thinking warm thoughts £3 for over a months worth of heating has to be worth it!

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basic but good

I tend to go through phases when I am really into candles and home scenters and therefore, I have several half-used packs of candles tucked in cupboards around my house. One of those that I own is a pack of 100 basic tealights from Sainsburys. I purchased these about 18 months ago in Sainsburys for around £3, which I felt pretty good value for 100 lights. I did not see the need to purchase anything other than basic candles as they seemed much of a muchness to me!

The candles came in a sealed plastic bag with the basic labelling on. This can be ripped open to access the candles which are all loose inside. The candles are as you would expect from tealights - they have a silver metal base which is filled with white wax and a white wick. There is only a slight scent of wax when opening the bag - they are not fragranced. Despite the packaging being very basic, I found all the tealights inside to be in good condition - none were loose from their casing or battered in anyway. They looked good too, the metal casing well filled with wax.

The lights are easy to light with a match or lighter and once lit, remain lit until you blow them out. They burn well and I would say that they last for 2-3 hours of burning which is pretty good value. A bag of these lasts a long while (especially if you go through phases when you use these and then don't like me!) so I think that they are tremendous value for money and I would not hesitate to recommend them. They are always handy to have in the house!

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These are okay bog standard for value candles

I was in Sainsburys ages ago and got impressed with their basic range then went mad- some things were good a lot were bad these are average. Costing around £3 for 100 tea lights at the moment they're not a fortune and they boast an impressive 4 hour burning time.

These come in a plain plastic bag the same as other bagged tea lights. They're just the usual bog standard unscented white wax tealights which come in foil disposable cases that are used in oil burners etc. I personally use them for this purpose and also keep them in to light them if we have (rare now) an electricity power cut. They are particularly smashing for that as they don't require a candle holder and can be dotted around. A few give off a fair amount of light, I find Sainsbury tea lights as bright as other brands I have used including dear ones- although some are brighter with a bigger flame out of the same bag than others.

These small round candles are easy enough to light, however the wicks are on the small side and need lifting off the wax. These are smokeless wax which melt into liquid wax whilst burning, this can be messy if moving the candle so care has to be taken not to spill it- it's hot............ Once extinguished they will harden again ready for re-light which isn't easy as the wicks burn right down to form a little black piece. Their overall quality is okay, I'm not fussed as long as they burn. The foil is flimsy and sometimes the candles fall out in the bag but I just shove them back in. I haven't had a problem with the wax leaking out of the cases but I think I've been lucky after reading other reviews where this has happened.

Do they last the 4 hours?

Some do I think but no probably not on the whole, I haven't used a stop watch but would estimate about 3 hours, I suppose it depends on the circumstance in which it is burned- draft, oil burner etc.

Would I recommend?

Probably they're not bad for the price and they are tea lights and that's what they are.

3 STARS from me though because they don't last as long as 4 hours (which would be great value for money if they did) and the wicks can be a pain and I've seen and had cheaper.

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overpriced tealights for the Basics range

My husband would say that I'm obsessed with candles, and I guess that he's probably right. I always have candles lit up in the house every evening, and I go through vast quantities of them. I especially like using scented candles and tealights to fragrance the room. However I've found that this can work out to be very expensive as scented candles are more expensive than unscented candles. I've found that to keep the cost down if I use a mixture of scented candles and unscented candles then I get the best of both worlds, I get the scent and fragrance from the scented candles, and the warmth and glow from both the scented and the unscented candles.

I especially have a lot of tealights dotted all over the house, and this is one area where I don't really mind using the unscented version. I normally buy my regular unscented tealights from Ikea, I normally buy the Glimma unscented tealights which are £1.75 for a pack of 100 tealights. This is excellent value for money, and I normally stock up with a couple of bags each time I go to Ikea. Unfortunately last time I went I had a bit of a dumb moment and I thought that I had lots of tealights left and so I didn't buy any, it turns out that I only had a handful left and so I ran out and was looking to buy some from elsewhere.

When I was shopping in Sainsbury's I spotted the Sainsbury's Basics tealights. They were £2.99 for a bag of 100, much more expensive than my regular Ikea Glimma tealights, in fact nearly double, but I wasn't going to be heading back to Ikea any time soon and so I popped a bag in my trolley.

The Sainsbury's Basics tealights are just plain white in colour, with a white wick, just the same as any basic unscented tealights that you'd buy anywhere really. Occasionally I'll struggle to light the wick on the odd Sainsbury's Basics tealight, sometimes the odd one will just take ages to light - for no apparent reason. They also seem to give off quite a bit of smoke on initial lighting, the smoke does disappear a few minutes after lighting though, so it's not normally a problem. The Sainsbury's Basics tealights state that they have an average of 4 hours burn time. I would say that that's slightly optimistic, I normally only get around 3 and a half hours out of them, I get the occasional one that will burn for maybe just short of 4 hours - but most will flicker out at the 3 and a half hour mark. The Sainsbury's Basics tealights always burn down evenly, so no problems there. The metal cups that the Sainsbury's Basics tealights come in don't seem to be as substantial as the metal cups that the Ikea Glimma tealights come in, they squash and bend quite easily. I always use the tealights inside a tealight holder, so they don't necessarily need to be any more substantial, and it's not caused me any problems so far.

Overall the Sainsbury's Basics tealights work just as well as any other tealights, and I would buy them again, if I'd ran out of my Ikea ones. I do think that they are overpriced though, especially as they claim to be from the Basics range - £2.99 for 100, compared to £1.75 for 100 from Ikea. I'm going to be sticking with my Ikea Glimma tealights on the whole though as they are cheap and as I use so many!

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Versitility, thy name is tealight

We couldn't get much higher====================

A tea light is a little candle and wick sitting in a thin plastic or metal cup. Essentially self-contained, it can burn all the way down to a puddle of liquefied wax without maxing a mess or causing a fire. They are cheap to buy and can last several hours.

I've often wondered why a tea light is called a tea light. It's not made out of tea, but you do light it. Apparently these were originally developed to sit inside a ceramic device, like an upside down ashtray. Your tea pot sits on top. Result; a way of keeping tea warmer for longer.

If that was all that tea lights were used for, none of us would ever have heard of them, let alone seen them in the supermarkets and every hardware store, in packs for purchase. The fact of the matter is that these little squashed candles are incredibly versatile.

Use, the first; eau naturelle=======================Simply plonked down on a glass coaster, a couple of tea lights can transform your average at home dinner into something a little more romantic. All of a sudden, it's not your dining room, it's that little bistro you went to way-back-when.

If you're looking to relax, line up a few next to your bath. Light, turn off the electric light, and immerse. Feel those aches, pains and worries melt away. This is particularly effective if you buy a lightly scented or coloured set of tea lights which cost just a little bit extra.

Use, the second; formalised luxury=============================There are many, many companies that have cottoned onto the popularity of tea lights. They have produced a bewildering array of holders. There are cast iron Candelabra which hold multiple tea lights, engraved porcelain holders which highlight shapes and figures. Holders made from crystal. Holders made from baser glass. Holders made from wood, enamelled or plain.

In case you think all this gubbins is the province of Asda, Sainsbury and the like; you would be wrong. Royal Dolton is in on the act also. There are so many options, it is difficult to know which is best. You need to see them active, with the lights down to really find what floats your boat.

One of the more left field ideas is something we have. A lovely wooden thing that sits on four legs, filled with little pearls of wax. The tea lights, snuggled down in their bed illuminate all that's around them. There are many other inventive ideas, and the range is ever growing.

Use, the third; foodies==================

Table top food warmers can be a very attractive way of keeping serving plates warm at the table. A Cognac and brandy warmer may be a little pretentious, but certainly creates a talking point. If you're feeling particularly creative , you can even get a ceramic tea pot warmer, that little device that started all of this.

Use, the fourth; Narnia==================

Why stop inside? For those elusive warmer nights, a few strategically placed in the garden can transform it into a magical place. A line down the patio, or flower border is impressive enough, but going further afield pays greater dividends. You'll go through a pack quickly, but there are THAT cheap that you can afford to do so.

Given the increasing snowiness of our winters, putting out a couple in a garden carpeted by snow is simply breath taking. Particularly for small children.

Hopefully, I've given you all a few ideas to implement. I've kept banging on about how cheap they are. How cheap is cheap? Well, Sainsbury do a pack of 100 basic tea lights for £2.99. 3p per candle.

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A nice idea not so well executed - expensive alternatives do exist.

Tealights have been a common household item in my family home since early childhood. There would always be a big pack of IKEA ones under the kitchen sink, or (for some strange reason) in the shed. As trips to IKEA became more and more infrequent, however, we switched to the Sainsbury's variety, and though a little more expensive, we found them to be of exactly the same quality and size. In fact, they're probably manufactured in the same factory. On first sight, these tealights seem rather unimpressive, but if used artistically and numerously, they can create a warm, romantic, and inviting atmosphere in any room of the house.

FORM:The design and construction of the product(s) can only be described as poor to average. The tealights are ruggedly put together with little care or attention. Some will fall apart in the packaging and others might bend or twist whilst being transported - all due to the fact they come in a transparent plastic bag that won't protect the tealights against scratching or dinting. Subject to pressure, they will crumple relatively easily - the metal casing, that is. They are each made from a white paraffin wax of reasonable quality. The wax won't overflow the silver metal, unless it has been punctured. Manufactured in China, the tealights each measure 1.5 (depth) x 3.8 cm (diameter), though I found this can fluctuate slightly because of their poor build quality.

USE: As I said before, you can use this product (on mass) in any room of the house, but they seem to resonate best in the bathroom, set round a steaming bath. In the living room you might like to line the mantelpiece with a row, or decorate the coffee table. just remember to keep the little tealights away from plastics (especially bags) and electrical equipment. They seem to last for about 2-3 hours depending on the condition of the wick and wax. They do have quite a long wick (allowing for easy lighting with a standard lighter or short match), but this can sometimes be severed, or buried within the paraffin. For their size, I have to say they burn very well indeed - though the variation

Generally speaking, I don't have much to complain about besides the products build quality. They're a tacky product, but that is justified by the price you pay, and the amount you get. You can get a pack of 50 for under £3.00, that's under 6 pence per candle. Averaged, they burn delightfully, and in an otherwise darkened room you care little for their physical make-up and more for their orange flame. If you're in IKEA is suggest buying theirs, but these variety are just as good.

RATING: 3.2/5

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Ok but there are better ones out there

I always like to have my Yankee Candle Tarts burning away when I am in the house which means I get through quite a lot of tea lights. I am not loyal to any particular brand and last year, I picked a bag of these up.

For around £3, I got a bag of 100 tea lights. They are pretty standard looking, the paraffin wax is white and they come in a silver casing. They measure approximately 1cm deep and 3.8cm, the depth is a little smaller that the tea lights I normally buy from Wilko's in diameter and have a burn time of up to 3 hours. I have found the burn time can vary and they actually last between 2 to 3 hours. I have lit two before within a matter of minutes and found that one extinguished at least 30 minutes before the other. The wick of the tea lights is a nice length meaning they are easy to light; I also found that if I blew them out after a while, they re-lit quite easily and the wick didn't crumble away to nothing.

One of the downsides I found was that they came in a plastic bag and some of the casings were scratched and dented, as I brought mine in store, I did have a good look at the bag before I purchased so I would recommend doing this.

Overall, the tea lights do what they should but they are a little more expensive than other supermarkets own brands so that, coupled with the fact that the burn time is less and for me, it is a little bit of a trek to go to Sainsburys means that I would only give 3 out of 5 stars and I would probably own buy again if I was desperate for some tea lights..

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These are not too bad but not the best

WHAT ARE THEY?

A pack of 100 tealights from Sainsburys. They are from the basics range so the packaging is very plain but the price is not very low so that surprised me.

THE DESIGN

These tealights are very short and they do not melt the wax adequately when I use one in my Yankee Candle burner. They do not look any different to other tealights in my holders so I use them for display instead of for warming wax tarts. I like that the metal tealight holder is quite stiff but the aluminium does not feel as strong as I would like it to be. My mother buys these more often than I do and she has had wax leak from the base of the tealights but this has not happened to me.

WHAT I THINK

The tealights only last for about 2 hours and that is not very good when other basic tealights last for longer. They are white and the metal holders are shiny so they do not look cheap. They sit straight and staple and the tealights always burns strong.

The wax burns even and if you blow it out early the wax sets even so that you can light it again. It is a shame they do not work very well with my wax tart burner because I do a lot of shopping in Sainsbury's and it would be good if I could buy my tealights from there also.

ANYTHING ELSE

100 tealights costs £2.50 and that is expensive for supermarket basic brand and they are not any better than the ones I buy from the £1 shop.

3 Dooyoo Stars.

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My candle compromise

I often buy the bags of 100 unscented tea lights from Sainsbury's when I go there to do a weekly shop. These bags cost £3 which I consider to be really good value for money as each tea light has a long burn time of up to four hours. I love candles, especially during the darker winter months, but my husband hates the fragranced variety, so unfragranced ones are often the best option as he complains so loudly about the smell.

I love to place a collection of tea lights around the bottom of my fireplace on an evening once I have got my daughter to bed. I have some square shaped mirrors that I like to place them on and I find that the reflection they create can look really pretty and quite magical sometimes.

Sainsbury's basic tea lights are, as I say, unscented. Each little tea light comes in its own silver coloured foil covering. I have personally found, to my own cost, that attempting to move a tea light after it has been lit for some time, will often result in either burning my fingers from the outside of the foil container (which gets very hot) or the hot candle wax will run down the sides and burn my fingers anyway.

I don't often move them about but I have found that these particular ones seem to create an awful lot of really runny, drippy wax which easily spills right over the sides and onto unsuspecting fingers.

These tea lights are plain white in colour and they are very easy to light first time as they have a nice long wick. I like to use them alongside a lightly scented candle sometimes and I do find that they will last for a good four hours (or possibly even a little bit longer if I don't place them beside a draughty windowsill).

They are simple and plain but when placed together they can look very effective and cast a lovely warm glow in any room. They are certainly well priced and I'd recommend them to anyone who's looking for a good quality little tea light at a reasonable price

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A useful value type product

~Basic tealights~*************

I bought a pack of Sainsburys Basics tealights to use alongside some more expensive scented tealights and also to use with a fragrance burner. These Sainsburys tealights are not scented and so are ideal for use with a fragrance burner in my opinion, as they don't fight with the fragrance of the particular oil you intend to fragrance your room with. Each tealight has its own little foil type case that keeps any hot wax safely inside when the tealight is lit, meaning that these tealights can be used reasonaly safely in a number of situtations around the home.

The tealights come packed in a simple plastic bag that is quite thick and sturdy. I felt that the product bag was strong enough to keep the contents safely together on the journey home from the store and could also if wanted, be used as somewhere to store any unused tealights. Each little tealight is meant to be able to be used for around 4 hours and I would say that this is roughly the time span that a tealight will burn for if placed in a fairly open container with no draft to effect the flame pattern.

The metal foil tealight cases do feel rather flimsy, yet they manage to do the job they have been made for reliably if placed on a level, flat, heatproof surface. The cases do get hot over time and care should be taken when placing them. I feel that care should also be taken when disposing of the empty foil cases once the wax inside has burned away, as the cases do have sharp edges to them that could catch your skin. I tend to carefully fold the cases on to themselves after use/ before putting them in the bin, as I feel this makes them safer and less likely to case a scratch to the skin.

The solid wax in each tealight starts out looking white, but becomes clear and turns to liquid once burned down. Care should be taken if moving a tealight that has been lit, as the liquid wax does become rather hot and could burn the skin or cause damage to furniture or soft furnishings if not handled with care. The short candle wicks on these tealights can burn down quite quickly and become difficult to re light over time, although generally these do last until almost all the wax has burned away.

~Price/ rating~***********

A bag of 100 basic tealights used to cost around £3 in Sainsburys, making each tealight a super low 3p. I feel that 3p per tealight is good value for money and in my opinion whilst these tealights are very basic and have no scent of their own, they are useful to use alongside a fragrance burner. My rating for the tealights is 3 stars as they do what they should if used with care. I would have liked the thin metal cases to have been a little sturdier and would generally opt for scented tealights over these unscented ones if not using them with a fragrance burner.

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5 stars

I was bought some tea lights from Sainsbury's for Christmas. My daughter said the packet cost her just £2 and in the pack are 100! It isn't presented in a particularly beautiful manner like you can get, they are simply just in a bag but I don't really mind about presentation because they aren't going on display in the bag!

I love using tea lights, I like to have them in my little oil burner and I Have a few little ornaments which have tea light room underneath them so I do tend to use them quite a bit.

I like scented ones but I have had to use plain ones because sometimes the scented ones can be awkward with the oil burning as the two fragrances mix and so these are perfect for me. The have no scent at all except the usual slightly waxy smell of a candle.

They are your usual size for a tea light so can fit into any tea light holding item.

I found a few of them are difficult to light, the wick is very dry and it can take a few attempts to get it to light, this can be a bit frustrating, at times I think it's taken and then it goes out again but eventually I can light them.

They work perfectly fine, they keep burning until the wax has all gone and then they just go out. They have little metal discs around them which keeps them from spilling or the fire spreading.

Although it is a little difficult to light some at times I don't think I can give it anything less than five stars because for such a cheap price they are well worth it. I use several a day so these are ideal for me, cheap, cheerful and they work perfectly fine once lit.

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Cheaper than Yankee!

I recently bought myself a Yankee Candle wax tart burner and some wax tarts and needed to buy some unscented tealights to use with this. The Yankee Candle shop was selling them at the ridiculously expensive price of £4.99 for a small packet and I knew I could get them cheaper elsewhere, so I popped into Sainsburys.

I purchased these Sainsburys basic range tealights in a pack of 25 and I can't remember the exact cost - but I think it was somewhere around £1. They now are more commonly available in packs of 100 which cost about £2 and can also be bought in packs of 200. The packaging is fairly simple - a clear plastic bag which holds the tealights and has the product information on the front. I found that when I opened the bag, a few of the candles had come loose from their foil base, but this didn't bother me much as I simply set them back into the foil.

The tealights themselves look like any other tealights, circular white discs inside a foil base with a little white wick on top. The wicks themselves are stuck down on the wax in most of the tealights in my pack, meaning I have to use my fingernail to lift them up before lighting them. The tealights are easy to light using matches or a lighter. They are then easy to set inside my Yankee wax tart burner. If I extinguish the candle, it is easy to relight, again using either a match or a lighter. The tealights do stay warm for quite a while after being extinguished so I always let them cool down before handling.

I have found that the average burning time of each of these tealights is around 3-4 hours which I feel is reasonable for such a cheap product. Once the candle has fully burnt down leaving the foil base it is noticeable that the foil is very weak and flimsy, which I suppose might explain why some of the candles had come loose from the foil inside the packaging. In my opinion for such a cheap product this is to be expected and doesn't bother me much.

All in all I think these tealights are of reasonably good quality for such a cheap price. I would buy them again but will perhaps try some of the other supermarket own brands first to see if they are any better quality. I give these a 4* rating taking 1 star off because of the flimsiness of the foil and because most of the wicks are stuck to the wax. Thanks for reading/rating.

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Pretty flames tea lights for a pretty low cost.

Last Christmas I was invited to a friend's house. Whist we were chatting she told me that she's allergic to scented candles though she love to watch candles burn. I clapped my hand to my mouth, 'Oops' I said and glanced at the yet to be unwrapped present, of a scented candle which I'd purchased for her. We were both somewhat embarrassed but it gave us something to laugh about.

This year my friend came to me. I decided to use unscented tea-lights from Sainsburys. I placed lanterns along the driveway and on the porch and just before my guests were due to arrive lit them. It made a beautiful illumination and I was able to offer immediate reassurance that they are unscented candles. She wasn't worried as we were outside but I needed to warn her as there were more indoors.

I used these fairly inexpensive tea lights in little candle holders which were dotted around the lounge and dining room. There were always adult present so the candles were always supervised and strategically placed where they would be unlikely to be knocked over.

Generally, each small circular wax piece required the wick to be prised out with my fingernails. It didn't bother me as I wasn't in a hurry. I had a calm and very well organised party. In fact, as one child arrived early, it was very handy to engage them in the little task of lifting the wick from the wax. They felt pleased to help and their efforts were rewarded by the pretty effect of the twinkling lights that they'd help me to prepare.

The lights outside stayed aflame just long enough for all the guests to arrive and neighbours have since told me how pretty the driveway looked.

The tea lights burnt themselves out safely and all I had to do was retrieve the foil trays later to discard into the bin. The only problem was that I didn't have time to replace them with new lights for the departure of guests about four hours later. Lighting them outside had been a bit tricky as I had to watch out for the elements. Very luckily the rain had stopped and by sheltering the lights with our bodies they were wind protected but I was glad not to have to re-do the process again as I was tired by then.

The indoor lights remained aglow for a good three hours before I swapped the old lights in with new ones. The metal foil-like holder can melt inwards but as all the lights were in protective holders that didn't present any safety problems.

I paid around three pounds for one hundred tea lights so I'm happy with that as it made a very pretty presentation and I have many left over for future use.

The real test was if my friend would react to the candles. She stayed for the full party with not so much as a wriggle of her nose never mind a sneeze. These basic, but pretty-flamed, tea lights didn't get on her wick!